Introduction

The Cork Marathon took on a new significance for me in 2024. In previous years I was hardly gone from Cork now the reailty is that Julie and I have lived in Dublin for two years. Our son Edward was born in Dublin less than two weeks before the Cork Marathon 2023. Not all of our major life events have occured in Cork anymore. Seeing Edward army crawl across Cork City Hall on almost the very spot where five years ago his mother had missed out on election to Cork City council by a handful of votes really brought home how much our lives had changed. He crawled on the very spot where Julie and I saw the winning margin of the 8th amendment for the first time. He seemed to veer right to the place where I had collapsed into a chair after the hotter than hell 2016 Cork Marathon. Perhaps most impressive of all was how Edward tore after what he wanted in City Hall. Once he reached the floor he raced for the door. Doors are his new favourite toy and he prefers them shut. All these milestones are what I think of now when I come home. The attachment to the Cork Marathon has grown for me this is my hometown marathon I want to see it do well. Scratch that I want to see it carve out a place at the top of the Marathon food chain.

The #everymilesisamemory for this year couldn’t have been more apt for me. As a runner I often divide up my year into which runs I’m going to do. The Cork Marathon is always a main stay right at the turning point of the year I always tend to look back over the last 5 months and look at my goals professional and athletic and I ask myself have I changed my behaviour or am I just hoping for the best? A mile can make or break a years worth of achievements.

The Cork Marathon is building a compelling legacy which is a rather flowery woke way of saying it’s growing it’s economic and cultural footprint. Participants have grown up with it more have been converted from couch potato to marathoner. I look forward to coming home. When I arrived on Friday night(May 31st) I bumped into Eamon (Race Director) and Graham (Volunteer Hall of Fame) they were in great spirits and they were confident we were about to have a weekend to remember. Graham told me Eamon was aiming higher this year and I could see it. Participants rolled in with suitcases behind us and weeks earlier I had been reposting about a SOLD OUT Cork Marathon. We’d never had this before.

Race

I can never resist giving back to the Cork Marathon when I seen TBA next to the 50 minute pacers for the 10k Race I text Eamon (Race Director) straight away and told him I’m late asking and I know I said I couldn’t promise anything but I’d be there on Sunday, I’m coming down from Dublin and I can do a job for you at 50 minutes. Eamon at first said he was fine for pacers then someone couldn’t make it and I was back pacing and giving back to the Cork Marathon. This is an insight into the extraordinary work that goes into making the Cork Marathon run smoothly. I was just one tiny piece of juggling for Eamon and his team. Normally they’re getting things right just like that for everything from online entries all the way to the chip times.

I was paired with Jim to pace the 10k race for 50 mins. Jim was fresh off a huge marathon success in London roaring home with a sub three hour finish. We had a brief chat in the pacers room. Jim asked with a broad smile and a laugh

Do you have a plan? because I don’t

I mentioned smiling broadly

maybe setting a 4:55 per km pace for the first 5km and level out at 5:00 per km for the last 5 km. Leave 30 seconds to play with.

As I would learn later Jim had his watch programmed to help him keep a 7:56 per mile pace if I hadn’t a plan in mind like every high achieving marathoner I’ve ever met Jim had a plan ready to go. It wouldn’t surprise me if Jim never set foot on a race day that he hadn’t thought out. I was in great company as were the others who had placed their hopes on running a 50 minute or below 10 km. I was expecting that many would be trying to break 50 mins and that many would be right on the cusp of that achievement. That being said it didn’t stop Jim and I joking around on Washington street during the first kilometer asked by one member of our pacing bus how often we ran Jim replied smiling ‘not that often’ I cajoled that ‘I never run and this was my first time running a 10k’. Our pacing bus crew were not easily fooled one of them knew how involved in parkrun I was and a few more had seen Jim finish on the live stream at the London Marathon.

Outside Blackpool I spotted my wife on the contraflow opposite me I raced over for a high five. The next thing I knew I had others looking for a high five. I jumped into motivation mode and started yelling power up with a high five. I must have high fived about 20 people in row then made my excuses that I had to get back to work and pace these guys. It gave people a laugh. They made me think of my son. He is just about starting to understand a high five. He loves the interaction gives him a real fit of giggles. The guys in the contraflow had gotten into kilometer six of their race and they had a memory to hold onto not to mention the awesome power of my motivation.

Overall I got my crew home safely in 50 mins and many of them came in under that. We got a cracking welcome from the Cork crowd. I thought we’d won the 10k.

Course

Live a Little

The Cork Marathon 10km race passed through some particularly scenic areas of Cork City. Looking left or right on the bridge by the North Campus of UCC captured the beauty of Cork City wonderfully. Crossing the bridge just below the Bus stop by Merchants Quay is not only a good spot to feel a cool refreshing breeze but also a captivating view of the Port of Cork.

I met a few people afterwards around town who said they tried to keep up with myself and Jim but had a disappointing day cramp and feeling a bit off was what people told me. I was quick with the reassurance today the conditions will take 2 minutes off the best athletes over 10k and most importantly I was talking to people who had finished the race. I encouraged them to take the positives and finishing is always a huge achievement in any race.

Conclusion

They’re cool customers at the Cork Marathon growing in confidence and rightly so.